Month: July 2018

Online gaming software developer GAN and Parx Casino have announced that they have agreed to a multi-year deal to offer sports betting both at the Bensalem, Pennsylvania casino and online. The two companies previously entered in a partnership to offer a “simulated gaming” product (read: play money gambling) in 2015; this is an extension of… Read more »

Poker players are known for their love of prop bets, so here’s a fun one: poker pro Antonio Esfandiari will be taking on comedian and actor Kevin Hart in a boxing match in March 2019. The two agreed that Hart is a massive favorite, so Hart gave Esfandiari 35-to-1 odds. The two men are basically… Read more »

On Thursday, the Microgaming Poker Network (MPN) introduced a new version of its poker client to several of its skins, hopefully allowing the network to be able to roll out updates and feature additions much more smoothly in the future. The new client is named “Prima,” in reference to the original name of the network,… Read more »

MGM Resorts International announced two big partnerships Monday, setting the stage for it to potentially become a major player in the online gaming arena. In two separate press releases, MGM revealed deals with both GVC Holdings and brick-and-mortar gambling rival, Boyd Gaming. GVC Holdings GVC Holdings, though not exactly a household name in internet gambling… Read more »

In the world of poker, there are several organizations that recognize those that have achieved greatness in the game. There is supposedly the Seniors’ Poker Hall of Fame, which recognizes players over the age of 50 (I say “supposedly” because I can’t seem to find anything online about who is currently enshrined in the group).… Read more »

It’s been quite an exciting six months of poker for Justin Bonomo. Since the start of 2018, Bonomo has been on a tear in the High Roller world, winning ten championships and making 19 final tables. That tear has brought in $24,811,941 (thanks Hendon Mob!) in just seven months…or maybe less, if you extrapolate Bonomo’s… Read more »

On Thursday night, poker player Simon Lam became the latest individual to etch their name of the WPT Champions’ Cup by winning the WPT Gardens Poker Festival in Los Angeles. The victory by Lam, however, was overridden by the antics of poker professional/legend Men “The Master” Nguyen, who went deep in the tournament but caused… Read more »

In the entirety of her poker career, Vanessa Selbst has been a focal point of the game because of her skills on the felt. One area that she seemed to lack in, however, was the general (read: non-poker) media, even though she was arguably one of the most successful players in the game. In fact,… Read more »

While it might not be as popular as it once was, reading someone’s guidelines for success in business, athletic endeavors or life in general through a book is a great way to learn. Picking up these useful tools as recounted by successes in that field is also popular in poker, but it has been a… Read more »

California poker pro Seyed Reza Ali Fazeli pleaded guilty to a charge of federal wire fraud for stealing $6.2 million from “investors” in a ticket resale scheme. The 49-year old Fazeli was originally indicted in March on two counts of wire fraud. Fazeli created a ticket selling company called Summit Entertainment and from May 2016… Read more »

In a move that likely came as a disappointment to some, but hopefully a surprise to nobody, PokerStars removed the specialty game Showtime Hold’em from its cash game lobby on Monday. This was a scheduled change and is something that PokerStars has done before. The more interesting thing is that the online poker room has… Read more »

This is slightly old news, but with the 2018 World Series of Poker having occupied our thoughts for a while, forgive us if we missed this. Aussie poker pro James Obst announced this month that he plans to ditch that “pro” designation, effectively retiring from full-time poker. Most young poker pros – Obst is just… Read more »

Pennsylvania finally legalized online poker last fall and now the industry is finally, slowly starting to ramp up. The first deadline for casinos to apply for interactive gaming licenses was early last week and though for a while it looked like very few or even none of them would file petitions, in the end, nine… Read more »

Say your goodbyes to your favorite tablemates while you still can, for online poker room PokerHost will be shutting down for good on July 31st. Not shutting down only on its current network as it has done so many times before, but closing once and for all. The announcement was originally made by the poker… Read more »

Surprisingly, the state of Maryland has a casino gaming war going on its turf. And the winners of the ongoing battle are the patrons of the casinos and, of course, the state government. Leader of the Pack MGM Resorts International announced last week that it will be expanding the gaming space of one of its… Read more »

With the 78 tournaments that made up the 2018 World Series of Poker, it had to be expected that there would be some major shifts atop the different Player of the Year races. And while many may think that the run by Justin Bonomo – winning before the start of the WSOP the Super High… Read more »

While most of the attention of the railbirds and the ESPN viewership was focusing on the World Series of Poker $10,000 Championship Event last week, an important thing was going on. As the WSOP wrapped up (at least for its Las Vegas leg), Shaun Deeb and a couple of other players were able to pass… Read more »

Justin Bonomo won his second bracelet of the 2018 World Series of Poker, taking the crown in the $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop. In defeating Fedor Holz heads-up, Bonomo won $10 million. The Big One for One Drop capped what has been a fantasy year for Bonomo. Then again, the way things… Read more »

Let’s just say the optics of this are…not good. Per a report by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, MGM Resorts International has filed lawsuits in federal court against the victims of the tragic shooting at a concert outside Mandalay Bay in October. Yes, MGM, which owns Mandalay Bay and the Route 91 Harvest festival where the… Read more »

Joe Cada scoffs at fatigue. Fatigue isn’t even a word in Joe Cada’s vocabulary. On Friday night, he was eliminated in fifth place in the 2018 World Series of Poker Main Event. One would think someone would want at least a short break after that, but no, Cada proceeded to enter the Event #75: The… Read more »

My colleague Earl Burton did an admirable job live-blogging the final table of the 2018 World Series of Poker Main Event, even if he was a pansy and couldn’t stay up past 3:00am ET Sunday morning to see it through to the end.* During his blog, he noted that it was announced that Mori Eskandani… Read more »

After the longest heads-up battle in World Series of Poker Championship Event history, Illinois’ John Cynn was able to outlast Florida’s Tony Miles to capture poker’s World Championship in winning the 2018 WSOP Championship Event. The Early Action Coming to the three-man finale on Saturday night, both Miles (the chip leader) and Cynn were solidly… Read more »

Welcome back to our third and final night of live blogging of the 2018 World Series of Poker Championship Event Final Table! In the “old days,” when there was a live poker event like this – and televised – many in the industry would do what is called “live blogging.” Basically it was a way… Read more »

Welcome back to our second night of live blogging of the 2018 World Series of Poker Championship Event Final Table! In the “old days,” when there was a live poker event like this – and televised – many in the industry would do what is called “live blogging.” Basically it was a way to watch… Read more »

Good evening to all! Back in the dark ages – about ten years ago – there was such a thing as called “live blogging.” It was where reporters would watch an event and, as they were watching, they offered their thoughts on the proceedings. For tonight and through to the eventual naming of the next… Read more »